I stand for Peace CD Cover Design

2018

In this special edition of ‘Coronavirus and the City: One Question’ we asked a few of our staff and faculty if their kids would be willing to share their impressions of life in the city during the pandemic – through art.

Launch video - Coronavirus and the City: One Question

This weekly Q&A series was a School of Cities media intervention to capture the opinions of and inputs from urban leaders, researchers and activists about the real impact of pandemic on various aspects of society. The text based factual content aimed to cut through the clutter of the speculations about Coronavirus that flooded social media, replacing it with information from reliable and diverse sources.

The launch video intended to promote this decluttering aspect of the series.

In the times of content overload, it’s essential sometimes to share information in bite-sized versions. These graphics were designed as handouts  for a physicians’ conference. Two things I kept in mind: a) the conference allowed only two short intervals between sessions and those were our only windows to start a dialogue, hence the collateral had to be concise and supplement conversation highlights at a glance;

b) the handout had to be direct in its intent. Physicians and midwives speak in the same clinical terms and have historically shared a responsible and mutually-accountable working relationship. The collateral is a simple reminder of the reasons why midwives would be ideal for low-risk clients.

A short video to commemorate the first anniversary of the HRTO order ruling in the favor of pay equity for midwives. It’s important to remember how far one has come, in order to get the energized for what is yet to come. 

A snapshot view of the media intervention designed for the 2018 Sierra Leone Elections. I’ve always loved working under-pressure and strategising with tense deadlines. It is an opportunity to use minimal resources optimally and truly bank on collaboration. This project had a turn around time of three weeks and I cannot stress enough that those three weeks proved to me that if one is clear in what they want to achieve and persistent in the efforts to achieve the same, it is possible to share one’s vision with people and get the support to make it come to true.  The messages created are available on SoundCloud at https://soundcloud.com/user-431018404/sets/voter-information-messages-english-and-krio

Having worked across three industries and three continents, with the aim of shaping opinions, the thoughts that plague my mind have been turned into this Monday morning musing/ rant. The intention is to spark a dialogue about something we're all so well aware of, it seems foolish to talk about it... but often, things we don't talk about are the ones that influence our thoughts the most.

On the (radio) Waves of Change

“We had this 14 year civil crisis and the only means people had of knowing what was going on, was through the radio. If you went to the rural parts of Liberia where you don’t even have car roads, our people end up climbing onto trees just to grab the signal of a radio to know what’s happening across the country.”

Mr. Korta Togba, the Director of the New Liberia Media Initiative (NLMI), pauses to adjust the audio recorder in the pocket of his “PRESS” jacket. Since its establishment in 2003, NLMI has produced numerous radio products for agencies like USAID and UNDP, but it is his latest project with IFES that Mr. Togba feels he would be talking to his future generations about. After working as a radio journalist for over 30 years in a country marred by a 23-year long civil war, this is the first time he finds himself as the subject of a narrative; a narrative about the role played by radio in upholding social justice and democracy in his beloved Liberia.

The information system in Liberia is heavily dependent on the radio. Each of the 15 counties of has its own community radio stations, with an over-arching presence of ELBC, the state-broadcaster, and UNMIL radio, which have an pan-country reach. However, inspite of its wide reach, the medium has proven to be inadequate in providing a platform to communities residing in the far corners or deep in the heartland of the country. It is this limitation of the radio that Mr. Togba took on as a challenge, vowing to ensure that voices that never see the light of the day, get their fair share of air time. (Also, this is one of the biggest aspect of my work here...and Mr. Korta is a rockstar!)

Camera, Direction, Editing : Ravisha Mall

Originally created for www.ifes.org

In celebration of International Women’s Day 2019, this video takes a peek into the impact of midwifery on a person’s birthing experience. It takes a LOT to give birth and with the right support, it can empower the individual to find themselves through this incredible experience. 

An audio-visual sponsorship pitch for MTV Webbed Season 2.  Made for MTV India in 2016

For, poets can’t ask for anything else

but to be read in their own times...

“Asking for it”

A tribute to men all over the word struggling with all the females around them constantly "Asking for it"...

A tribute to females around the world who perhaps, aren't.

Originally performed at the 6th edition of Vagina Monologues (Liberia Chapter)

Transcript:

Yes, I was asking for it When I wore that skirt one evening That showed three inches Of my legs You could sense that My entire body language Begged for you To violate it beyond repair And all you were doing Was showing some care To the wanton pleas that my lowered Eyes made to your masculinity And before you could realise You were right on top of me Giving me exactly What you deemed fit And you couldn't have been wrong Because I was asking for it. Yes I was asking for it When I went to watch That movie with my male Friend Past eight o clock one night, And you were suprised That I would even pretend That I'm not an inviting whore who already had been fucked once and was asking for more and so you and your gang didn't need to think before ripping to bloody pieces my vagina and my soul while assuring each other that i was nothing more than a hole waiting to be plugged by your cocks and rods and anything that may or may not fit because that's what i deserved and I was asking for it. yes I was asking for it that night when i had a little more to drink than i planned to and woke up to your hands down my pants, your face a blur issuing perverted rants of how you wanted me through the drunken haze which you later told the judge was merely a passing phase in an otherwise blemish-free record which might get marred and everyone shrugs unsure if i didn't remember it would I even be scarred by your compulsion to penetrate me in a roadside ditch because there is that possibility that I had been asking for it. yes I was asking for it in the midst of an agitation led by men for men who believed they needed reservation not just in jobs but also between my thighs and you pleaded not guilty and got acquitted because the evidence on my body didn't suffice.. for who's to say that I'm not looking to be raped when I'm driving in the middle of the day cruising along on a highway and you were simply caught in a mob that swept your senses and made you deaf to my sobs because no definitely means yes especially in the midst of a social conflict and either ways my consent doesnt matter because I was definitely asking for it. yes, I was asking for it when i moved cities and continents to get back some confidence that I can walk the streets at night without a traumatic incident and feel like I'm safe from hands that would stretch to cup my ass and up my dress to feel like i'm not just meat for every passer by to size me up and and take a bite to eat while talking about the size of my chest and to tell my parents they can sleep at night without distress while i work thousand of miles away out of their sight but safer than I'd ever be back at home which no longer seems to be the haven that i can feel like i belong to, and which belongs to me and all my life before my eyes will be an endless search to find that space where i'd be able to feel safe and trust that a man's voice calling me from behind, wouldn't be another attacker just like the kind that made me leave my city, my state, my country my parent's house and all the things that could comfort me.. Yes, I'm asking for it simply because i exist and because it's hard for you to see a pair of breasts, and the curve of a bottom makes it hard for you to resist and the animal inside of your hollow chest makes you forget in an instant how you'd feel if a rabid dog were to chase you, would you kneel and beg to be forgiven for the fact that you are insignificant in front of his manic rage for your blood and your flesh or would you blame yourself for attracting him with the smell of your skin that's simply fresh food to be devoured by it's gashing teeth at your throat, and blood ceasing to flow in your veins will you wonder whether it was your fault, after all and the only question pertinent, it would seem would be asked by the by-standers watching you bleed to death behind their blue tv screens Did you ask for it? they'll ask and then finally at last you might just understand what I mean when I say, No i did NOT ask for it But i doubt even then, whether you'd ever believe me... and by then it would be too late to believe in what our sombre voices have to say, and you'll be replaced by someone else who'll see with your eyes and be just as agile in not taking no for an answer and push himself onto me with a menacing smile and tell me over and over that it's better to not fight, while through the rancid stench of his penis forcing itself into my being I'll know that somewhere he must be right and within me something will die as I lie comatose and submit because that's all i can do after asking Just so much for it.

Liberia 2017 Presidential and General Elections At A Glance

I LOVE working with infographics, even though I don’t get the opportunity to play around with them too often. To me they solve multiple issues:

> Condensing information into an easy to consume visual in a world hard-pressed for time.

> To a certain extent, breaking barriers of education by using graphics and numbers that can be interpreted even without extensive previous exposure.

> Break the monotony of textual narratives

> Make life fun by giving the creator a chance to play around with vectors, typography and colors! (this last one is more personal I guess) So, when I was asked to prepare a factsheet for the 2017 Liberian Presidential and General Elections for IFES internal staff, I was super excited. 

The colors of the Liberian flag, the Lonestar, became my palette and uncluttered, organic looking vectors were my choice to represent the various categories.  The second design was approved and widely circulated. It is now a template used by IFES projects across the world.

Title:  Call for action: Presidential Run-off Elections

First Published: 2nd November, 2017

Those that have seen war understand the value of peace. A 102 yr old voter's call for action is the manifestation of wisdom that can only come with experience.

Ma Millie Zamogar doesn’t look her age. As she faltered while reading our (hastily chopped down) script in English, I wondered if we were perhaps pressuring her to issue this call-to-action...But then the shoot ended (rather fast in five minutes) and the journalist accompanying us approached her with questions in her own dialect, Kissi...and my doubts were dispelled. Suddenly filled with energy that looks slightly misplaced on a frail women with 102 rains behind her, Ma Millie issued a long rant about the politicians playing with people and her staunch support for one of the two candidates who were competing in the Presidential Run-Off. I was left with no doubt that this iron lady put her money exactly where her mouth was and that her finger would bear the testimony of her participation in this historic run off by the evening of December 26, 2017. Lessons learnt: > just because someone doesn’t communicate in a language one understands    doesn’t mean they have nothing to contribute to one’s growth. > age is just a number. > passion for one’s true beliefs is timeless and inexhaustible.

Liberians LOVE Facebook! 

This might seem like a sweeping generalisation till you realise that the most happening “clubs” in some most towns of the country have been christened “Facebook”... you see a reflection of the love in the high membership of the closed groups that masquerade as discursive forums, even though the rhetoric that passes as intellectual engagement would probably not pass the self-censorship rituals of more exposed audience. 

However, this rapidly evolving necessary evil has a silver lining. For the first time, Liberian women have a platform where they can build their own identities and have their own opinions without having to constantly fight for their space. Even though the usage of social media amongst females is much lower than amongst the male population, it’s the beginning of a potential wind of change. Here’s my reflection on the trend, fuelled by the presence of Facebook’s Free Basics, that is connecting this remote West-African nation to the world, and redefining the visual landscape of a post-conflic nation.

Title:  Election is Serious Business...just like Football

Published: 6th January, 2017 

Another one in the low-cost CVE series, this video targets Liberian football fans, which basically means the entire country, but especially the youth.. The script is in simple English, the way it is spoken locally, features a local video club and two boys we found chilling outside the club. 

The aim of this video is to pit the uncertainty of football to the certainty of getting a good government through inclusive elections. We can’t choose how “Lone Star” (the Liberian national team) plays, but we can predict that informed voting for a good leader would ensure a better infrastructure to encourage sports education and management. 

Football wins too if the elections are fair and well-executed. 

Title: A Mother's Heart

Published: 10th Oct, 2016 [Beginning of election year]

The video was the first in a series shot on a shoe-string budget (no seriously, it was $27 for 7 videos) and featured Dorris, the receptionist at our office, and her daughter Princess, along with their neighbors. 

This was the first time that I was carrying a camera, and yet not feeling helpless. My attempts to shoot the city-life of Monrovia had been sadly thwarted, partially by my fear of the camera getting stolen, and partly by the fact that most adults on the street would expect some kind of remuneration in return of my clicking them, and that just didn’t feel right. But here, in a semi-urban setup just outside of Monrovia, I found people more welcoming and more willing to be captured in both posed and candid moments. It was almost like coming up for a breath of fresh air after being underwater for a while. 

The very low production value of this video is offset by the brilliant performance by Dorris, who I’m sure would have put most Nollywood actors to shame. 

The idea was to capture authentic Liberian culture which would make the situation and the setting relatable for the women who might get the chance of coming across the video. Sadly that number would not be satisfactory by any measure as the acceptance of technology and the autonomous use of cellphones is very limited among Liberian females...a story that is mirrored in the statistics of Indian mobile users aswel. That said, if this video convinced even one woman to stand up for her child and register to secure her daughter of son’s future, I would consider the job, not shabbily done.